Any reasons not to run vinyl flooring under walls?

[belfert]

I plan to basically redo most of interior this summer due to some issues we found during the first big trip last year.  Most of the interior wasn't done anyhow so it isn't a big deal in my eyes.  (No kitchen installed so no cabinets to remove.)

My thoughts for flooring would be to get an 8 foot by 40 foot piece of commercial grade vinyl and just glue it down over underlayment in an empty bus.  This would way easier than going around walls, bunks, and cabinets later.  I would then just build all my walls, bunks, cabinets and such over the vinyl floor.  I don't plan on welding, but that would be an issue for sure.  Basically this is the way a lot of RVs are built.  The flooring goes down before they even add the exterior walls in some cases.  I figure I can always cut the vinyl around everything if I had to replace it in the future.

Any reasons not to do this?

[H3Jim]

sounds like a good idea, actually. gives a little more sound and temp insulation too. 

[skipn]

Yep BTDT on 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms (this weekend will be the third)

  Just some caution notes.

  I like to do all the upper end work first then do the floor. With a mad dash to the finish
on the lower stuff.

  Reasons......
     Doing a lot of construction if one is not careful the floor will be scratched or worse.
     If the time period is long between laying of the floor and final finish the floor could be
     worn out (but then I have been know to work on projects for 10 yrs or more)
  You may have to put down some protective cover during some of your construction.

FWIW

<><
Skip

[Eagle]

The S&S companies do it even with carpet.  It really simplifies the job.

[captain ron]

Glue just the perimeter and not the field and after putting in your walls cover with cardboard to protect. Pretty good Idea Brian.

[Blacksheep]

IGuess I would have to dispute what othrs have stated because first off you will never be able to install a 40 piece of commercial grade vinyl in one piece without rips and wrinkles. And as others said it will wear out before your done! I say this because I am a flooring installer by trade!
Do it the right way and do each section as you need it. Besides, you may want to trade off here and there.

[belfert]

Why only glue the perimeter?  I know that travel trailers have only the edges secured and the center loose, but I assumed that was for speed and to save money.

I'm certainly not going to wear out a good commercial grade of vinyl before my bus is finished since it will be mostly finished before an August trip.  The issue of not being able to lay a 40 foot peice of vinyl is not something I thought about.  I know commercial vinvyl is heavy.

A local flooring store will sell me leftover commercial grade vinyl for $1 a square ft and you can't get very good vinyl for $1 a ft at normal prices.  Some of the stuff at this place has been sitting since 2003 and I am hoping they will go even less than $1 to get rid of it.

[Dreamscape]

I was going to do what you are thinking about, install the complete floor front to back before anything else goes in.

I did not do that, and now I am pleased I waited.

First, our minds have changed so many times on what to put where. At least the bosses anyway! 

Second, in our case the floor would have had 5 years of wear and tear before the inside is complete, still working on it since 03.

In you situation I'm sure it will work just fine for you. Your time frame is much shorter.

Just make sure you lay down what you want, it's no fun to have to tear it out because desires change in time.

Happy Trails,

Paul

[Jeremy]

Personally I wouldn't do it because I would want all my walls and cabinetry to be properly bonded down to the floor, not just screwed / bolted through the vinyl. Due to my background I tend to take a boatbuilder's approach to the interior fit-out, and a boatbuilder would never fasten something down with mechanical fasteners if it could instead be bonded using adhesive to make it an intregral part of the overall structure. I know you don't need 'bulkheads' in a bus quite as much as you do in a boat, but I would still want the solidity of my walls and cabinetry to be beyond question.

And besides I would want a different floor covering in the bedroom to the kitchen to the bathroom to the living area!

Jeremy

[belfert]

I am building a very simple conversion for use a few times a year.  I was going to use an industrial type carpet with bright colors n the rear area, but after my trip to the desert I decided no carpet.  The dust was thick inside the bus and I decided that carpet would never come clean.  We literally opened every window in the bus once we hit the highway to blow out some of the dust and it worked.

One color the entire length of the bus won't bother me or my friends.  If I had a wife or went camping every week I would probably reconsider.

[skipn]

Belfert,
  "If I had a wife "   There is still hope

  I hear a bus is a real wife getting magnet Let's just hope she like vinyl (floor)

Just teasing you a bit

   Skip

[captain ron]

For Brian's use it is a perfectly good idea. It's a week end bachelor pad a few times a year. Brian's bus will be a bowling alley with everything out of it and it should be easy to roll out then fold up the edges to glue. Glue just the perimeter for ease of replacement later plus the last time I put down that type of flooring that was the way the warranty said to do it. Your walls and built in furniture will also be securing it down.

[belfert]

Yeah, an expensive bachelor pad since I spent way more than planned for a few trips a year.  The bus might get a bit more use with reasonable fuel prices.

I'll ask the flooring place their opinion on edge gluing or not.  Edge gluing would be easier.  The one bad thing about commercial vinyl is lack of shine.  I need to make sure these vinyls don't require waxing.

[H3Jim]

regarding dust, thats one way I clean my bus after gong to the desert.  I have a small gas powered leafblower and I just blow out all the dirt and sand. Then I use the vaccum and then a dust rag.

[Blacksheep]

First off commercial vinyl should not be peremter glued. It wasn't designed that way. If it has a hydrcord backing then it MUST be full spread which brings to mind again that any full spread application will be VERY hard if not impossible to do with a piece 40 foot long. Getting it IN without breaking the backing or ripping it would be hard enough. Keeping it straight IN the bus is next!
A buch a foot is not really cheap since they usually charge by the square foot. That makes it 9 bucks a yard. A 9x40 is 360 sq feet or 40 sq yds.
If it's old and been on the shelf, it may be dry rotted which means it will break and rip even easier! The vinyl that was designed to be glued and even stapled around the edges has been long gone. If this is the material your looking at make sure it is rolled in it's special paper that keeps it from shrinking. Once it is out of the paper it will shrink. That's the way it is designed. If it is stored without the paper. It will NEVER lay flat!
I have been in the flooring industry for 38 years so what I'm telling you is to advise, not sell!